#DailyDevotion I Will Lift Up The Cup Of Salvation
13I will raise the cup of salvation and pray in the LORD’s name. Psalm 116:12-19 12How can I pay back the LORD for all the good He has done for me? 13I will raise the cup of salvation and pray in the LORD’s name. 14I will fulfill my vows to the LORD before all His people. 15Precious to the LORD is the death of His holy ones. 16O LORD, I am Your servant; I am Your servant, the son of Your maid-servant. You freed me from the ropes that bound me. 17With a sacrifice I will thank You and pray in Your name, O LORD. 18I will fulfill my vows to the LORD before all His people, 19in the courts of the LORD’s temple, in Your midst, O Jerusalem. Praise the LORD! 13I will raise the cup of salvation and pray in the LORD’s name.
The antiphon for the Psalm of the day speaks of the cup of salvation. It is likely this was one of four cups of wine drunk during the Passover meal. Of course this is projecting back on from current Jewish practices. The first and last cup were usual during the regular Sabbath meal. According to one source the second come stands for deliverance and the third for redemption. Either one of those would be good for the LORD’s supper though Luke talks about just two cups, the first in which Jesus says he will not drink the fruit of the vine again until he joins them in God’s kingdom. The second one is the cup which Jesus institutes the New Covenant. It is likely Luke only mentions these two cups because the other two were common.
This Psalm is completely about Jesus and his redemption of us. You should go and read the whole thing. The “I” in this Psalm is none other than Jesus. The first half deals with his trials, suffering and death. This half is concerning his deliverance from death and the graved. Despite the trials and tribulations that come upon him, Jesus can say, “How can I pay back the LORD for all the good He has done for me?” For he recognizes these were for his good and not meant for evil. Through them he delivers man from all his sins. They taught him what man goes through as one who is fallen and suffers much because of it. As the book of Hebrews tells us in chapter 2, “10It fitted Him well, for Whom and by Whom everything exists, that in bringing many sons to glory He should make the One Who gives them salvation perfect through suffering.”
Jesus fulfills his vows by becoming a sacrifice for us on the cross. There he atones for the sin of the world. There he makes propitiation, satisfaction, for all of man’s sins. He takes on death and the grave, our due dessert for all our iniquities, transgressions, rebellions, wicked and evil deeds, and sins. He rises from the dead as said earlier in the Psalm, “8You saved my life from death, my eyes from tears and my feet from stumbling, 9so I might walk before the LORD in the land of the living.”
As Jesus’ death was precious to the LORD so then are all their deaths precious to the LORD, i.e. those who put their trust in Jesus. We are not abandoned in death. We are not alone in death. The LORD is with us. He doesn’t abandon us to the grave. Even as the Father raised Jesus from the dead, He is going to raise us all from the dead and usher us into his kingdom, the New Jerusalem. There we will join with Jesus sacrifices of praise and thanksgiving. We will also offer up sacrifices of praise and thanksgiving to Jesus. “The Lamb Who was sacrificed is worthy to receive power and wealth, wisdom and strength, honor, glory, and praise.” “To Him Who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor, glory and might forever!” (Rev. 5:12, 13)
Heavenly Father, grant as we take up the cup of salvation, we are loosed from the bondage of sin and death, giving thanks for salvation we have in Christ. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.